US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks during the fifth meeting of the Federal Commission on School Safety in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House in Washington, DC, August 16, 2018. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Attorneys General from 19 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against Betsy DeVos and her Department of Education (DoE) after she ordered delays for student borrower defense rules slated for July 1, 2017. On Wednesday, the federal court ruled against the Trump administration official.

U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss ruled in favor of the Attorneys General. In his ruling, he stated:

“The Department [of Education]’s arguments to the contrary are unpersuasive… The Court, accordingly, concludes that the Department’s rationale for issuing the [delay] is arbitrary and capricious.”

The judge also characterized DeVos’s actions at the DoE as “unlawful” and “procedurally invalid.” The rules, created during the Obama administration sought to protect students from predatory colleges.

The Obama administration expanded borrower defense rules based on an “unprecedented influx” of fraud allegations concerning the for-profit secondary school chain Corinthian Colleges. The online chain shut down in 2016 facing multiple charges of fraud.

Other predatory schools like ITT Tech and Trump University also promised much but delivered little while signing up students for loans and federal financial aid then collecting the money and running. Both schools shut their doors and in some cases paid hefty settlements for defrauding students.

At the time of her decision to delay the student protections, DeVos called the rules a “muddled process that’s unfair to students and schools.” Much of the Department’s case hinged on rules being too hard to understand in the 8 months provided to become familiar with them.

But the judge’s ruling cited that inability by some to understand what others easily understood could not justify a delay in implementation.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey—one of the plaintiffs in the suit—celebrated the news on Twitter.

For years we’ve fought for needed protections for student borrowers. No matter what this administration throws at us, we will continue to stand up for students and families in Massachusetts. #BorrowerDefenseRule

Today’s decision in federal court is a victory for every family defrauded by a predatory for-profit school and a total rejection of President Trump and Betsy DeVos’s agenda to cheat students and taxpayers. #BorrowerDefenseRulehttps://t.co/3WPxhcewrK

BREAKING: We won our case challenging the Education Department’s illegal delay of the borrower defense rule — a delay that placed students at the mercy of predatory for-profit colleges. The judge called Devos’ actions “unlawful” and “procedurally invalid.” https://t.co/qA9agHqlvqpic.twitter.com/rL1fnW8dGz